Hi All,
I received quite a response from the list to my questions concerning the
prospect of buying a Hagemann-Simca Special. First, I want to thank each
of you for the time and consideration that you put into those responses.
It's just another reminder of how valuable this forum is.
Though I found the various analogies about the financial impact of racing
interesting and amusing, I want to go on record as not being one to want to
profit from a restoration endeavor such as this one, but simply to
understand how a group of experienced vintage racers would place this car
in the heirarchy with other like historic cars. My favorite quotes were:
"if you want to make a small fortune in racing, start with a big one" and
"a race car is a great way to turn money into noise".
I consulted several of my circle of authorities on West Coast Racing to see
how they would view the car and driver in its period context. One
respected authority considered Hagemann and Bourgeault (happy Simon?) to be
the greatest artists to create chassis.
When I spoke to Hagemann, I felt he had more enthusiasm for what he did
with the left over chassis from the donor Simca 8 (big American V-8) than
he did for the actual Special.
You have all convinced me that I would be happy with the power to weight
ratio. The thought of the possibility of 100 hp/ litre makes me want to go
out to the garage and kick my Speedster.
A big part of what I love about these cars is the foreplay. I love to
research and ultimately want to know more (hopefully) about my car than
someone else does. I like the prospect of reserecting an old warrior.
The problem with this particular car is that it was built too late to be a
player. It had about six months of potential and then the owner saw the
handwriting on the wall (Barlow was being beaten, for instance) and bought
an OSCA (while apparently keeping this car in the garage). I have only
found two races that I know it competed in and only one that it completed.
This kind of minutia is important to me, especially if I plan to make such
a long term commitment.
The suggestion that I race something in the mean time will be considered.
I'm not sure I'll go the Berkeley route (as Jim Barrett suggested), but I
will say that I spent some time in the pits at the Monterey Pre-Historics
after two Berkeley owners had duked it out and I've never heard two racers
more enthusiastic. Their point was that the real race is between two cars,
not the whole run group.
After deliberating, I have chosen to let the car go to someone else. I
wasn't in love.
Thanks again,
Clark
"Hay Bales and Asphalt"
a video featuring vintage footage
of motor racing from 1957 to 1961.
Images and description at
http://home.earthlink.net/~clarksmith/
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